Église Notre-Dame · Photo: Velvet · CC BY-SA 3.013 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2005
The Culture ministry lists 13 historic monuments in Calais: 5 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 8 inscrit (the second level). That’s 1.9 for every 10,000 residents; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 13th century. We have photos of 7 of them.
median compared town 2.5
Calais in 7 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Colonne commémorative du débarquement de Louis XVIII à CalaisClassé
Phare de CalaisClassé
Tour du GuetClassé
Citerne de l'église Notre-DameInscrit
CitadelleInscrit+2See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Calais has had a protected historic area since 2005
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR32-28 | ZPPAUP May 10, 2005 | ZPPAUP (heritage zone rules) May 10, 2005 |
A site patrimonial remarquable protects a whole area rather than one building: inside it, building work follows the area’s own plan and needs the agreement of the architecte des Bâtiments de France.
The list gives no boundaries, so the map can’t show the area.
Where Calais’ monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
Classé is the higher protection: any work on the building needs the State’s permission. Work on an inscrit building must be declared to the State in advance. Around both, building work in sight of the monument (usually within 500 m) needs the agreement of the architecte des Bâtiments de France.
Points as the ministry gives them: a monument spread over several plots has one point. 1 monument has no point on the map.
5 classé monuments in Calais
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. Each card opens the monument’s page.
Classé
Classé
Classé
Classé8 inscrit monuments in Calais
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
Inscrit
Inscrit
InscritMilitary buildings are the largest group in Calais
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Military & fortified: 3 of 13 monuments (23%). 2 are religious buildings, 1 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once.
How old Calais’ monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
5 of 11 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Tour du Guet (13th c.). 2 monuments have no date on the list.
Calais’ list has grown since 1913
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
First protected, in 1913: Église Notre-Dame. 2 were protected in 2000 alone. 4 have been added since 2011.
34 people born in Calais before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Everyone born in Calais Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Historic monuments in the towns around Calais
Calais in brief
The official list counts 13 historic monuments in Calais, 5 of them classé, including Église Notre-Dame. Its classé monuments cluster together: 4 of them stand within 400 m of Colonne commémorative du débarquement de Louis XVIII à Calais. Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2005.
Henri Albert de La Grange d'Arquien (1613), La Buse (1695) and François Louis Thomas Francia (1772) are among the 34 people born here before 1900. The oldest is Tour du Guet, from the 13th century. The rest is about typical: it has 13 historic monuments, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 7); per resident it sits near the middle of compared French towns; and 5.2% of its homes were built before 1919, close to the 7.4% in the median compared French town.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Monuments historiques. France protects buildings at two levels. Classé, the higher (about a third of the list), means any work needs the State’s permission; inscrit means work must be declared to the State in advance. The Culture ministry’s Mérimée base lists every protected building, and this page counts them.
- Partly protected. Many entries protect part of a building only (its façades and roofs, a staircase, a painted room). Each counts as one monument, like a fully protected one.
- Where a monument is counted. In the commune named on its protection, moved to today’s commune where communes have since merged. A monument listed for several communes counts in each.
- Sites patrimoniaux remarquables. Since 2016 France’s protected historic areas (the former secteurs sauvegardés, ZPPAUP and AVAP) share one name. Inside one, building work follows the area’s plan and needs the agreement of the architecte des Bâtiments de France.
- What isn’t here. Protected objects (furniture, organs, paintings), old buildings with no protection, UNESCO World Heritage listings and labels such as “Plus Beaux Villages de France” aren’t on this list, so this page doesn’t count them.
- No History Grade yet. Everything on this page is described, not graded: France’s History Grade isn’t built yet.
Questions about the history of Calais
How many historic monuments are there in Calais?
The Culture ministry lists 13 historic monuments in Calais: 5 classé and 8 inscrit.
Which monuments in Calais are classé?
5, among them Tour du Guet, Église Notre-Dame, Colonne commémorative du débarquement de Louis XVIII à Calais, Phare de Calais and Hôtel de ville.
How old are the monuments of Calais?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 13th century.
Is Calais a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Calais has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2005.
When were monuments in Calais first protected?
The first in 1913, the latest in 2026.
How old are the homes in Calais?
5.2% of its main homes were built before 1919 (median compared French town: 7.4%).
France has no History Grade yet: this page describes, it doesn’t grade.
Sources: Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée base on POP (immeubles protégés au titre des monuments historiques), October 2026 · Ministère de la Culture, sites patrimoniaux remarquables, October 2026 · INSEE, census 2023 (main homes by build period) · Wikidata and Wikipedia (people born here) · Wikimedia Commons and Wikidata (photos of the monuments, each with its own credit and license) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · Medians and percentiles: TownRatings, over compared French towns, updated November 4, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.